I Just Want to Sleep
by Lucy Morningstar
Summary: Kagome thinks Hojo is possessed by a raccoon spirit, while Inuyasha won't leave her bed.  One-shot, though I wouldn't particularly call it humourous.


_DISCLAIMER: Inuyasha is all Rumiko Takahashi's. :(_

A/N: You should know by now that my one-shots are overall plot-less and randomly generated. Nevertheless, reviews will still be welcomed with warm arms. Heh.

Summary: Kagome thinks Hojo is possessed by a raccoon spirit, while Inuyasha won't leave her bed.

**I Just Want to Sleep**

It's around 7pm right now and I'm tired, sweaty and famished. Let's see. Spent the whole morning and afternoon on Maths remedial (whoever first suggested the idea of extra lessons in the sweltering heat of summer must have been a sadist), then group study at Erika's house with the others. After that took the wrong train home and wasted an hour.

You must be thinking, that's not a tiring day at all. Well, I didn't have a good night sleep last night, so you get it. The first thing I want to do right now is to hit the shower, then sleep. That's it. True, I'm starving, but I'm so sleepy right now I can't even think of food. Okay, depends on what Mama is cooking.

I get home and head straight upstairs to my room. There's a white-haired figure sprawled on my bed. I ignore that. I toss my bag somewhere, grab my towel and pajamas. Then I stride to the bathroom. I'm thinking of a soak in the tub, then change my mind. I'll probably doze off, slip under and drown myself in the water like that other time. The idea of dying with soap bubbles in my lungs is not exactly appealing.

As I wash myself, as usual my mind stars to wonder. I'm not sure if it's a normal thing everyone else does, but when I'm bathing, I'll think of all sorts of things, whether it's past events or something I will like to do in the future.

I'm suddenly reminded of the group study just now. They didn't tell me Hojo was coming, another one of their silly surprises, I guess. In anyway he didn't seem to mind studying with a bunch of giggly classmates, and there were some tricky questions he'd helped me with, so I had no complaints.

Something really strange happened though. I had excused myself to go to the toilet for awhile and when I was done, I saw Hojo standing in the kitchen, ravaging the freezer. I'm not exaggerating here, he really was _ravaging_ it, like a racoon clawing violently through a burrow.

"Have you no shame, digging in someone's freezer?" I immediately asked aloud, half joking.

Hojo was obviously surprised when he heard my voice because he instantly stopped what he was doing. He looked over at me with a startled expression on his face, his eyes so wide that his pupils appeared constricted. His reaction was akin to someone who had been caught red-handed doing something illegal, or maybe a cat whose path had been blocked by a threat.

Hojo stared at me like this for a few seconds. Then, as if nothing happened, he calmly closed the freezer door, put his hands in his pockets and walked back to the room.

I was astounded. Not by the fact that he had completely ignored me or failed to acknowledge my question, but more so by the way that he had looked at me. It was as if he wanted me to disintegrate and melt into a pool of flesh right there on the kitchen floor, by his sheer eye power alone. There was just something _animalistic _and _unnatural _about those eyes, something I couldn't put my finger onto. For all you know maybe he _is_ possessed by a racoon spirit. I went back into the room with the others with this thought, and after that, couldn't stop observing Hojo. He of course acted as per normal throughout the whole time, smiling politely at me and entertaining the girls, and I felt silly about asking him what had happened back there, as if it was an incident that never occurred.

The liquid soap drips from my palm. Whoops. What a way to space out in the toilet. I'm probably thinking too much. Maybe Hojo was hungry and wanted to eat. Maybe he lost his mood when he saw me. (He? Lost his mood over me?) Or maybe he just didn't hear me clearly. Whatever. I finish soaping my legs and proceed to rinse myself. Amazing how your body is still able to proceed with a certain set of actions automatically, while your mind is off in another galaxy, far, far away...

I undo my hair and pat it with the towel as I exit the shower. I feel so warm inside, so fresh, so comfortable. I want to run and dive into my bed right now, snuggle under the covers with my squishy soft pillow, and drift myself to oblivion until the next morning.

The white-haired figure on the bed from just now stretches and elicits a loud yawn. You can see everything in his mouth-his gums, his fangs, his lolling tongue. Then his nose crinkles, and the ears on top of his head twitches. Basically inhuman.

He licks his lips, blinks for several times, then gives me a long look, as if adjusting to the the sight I'm presenting him.

"You're late," he says lazily.

I throw my damp towel at his face. His reflexes are quite slow. He takes some time to recover it, then looks at the piece of pink cloth in his hand in a dazed manner. What do you expect, the bloke just woke up.

"Get out of my bed," I say simply.

He puts the towel on his chest and licks his lips again.

"You're late," he repeats.

The phone rings downstairs. I grab my towel from him.

"I want you out by the time I go back in. Understand?"

He says nothing, smirks to himself as I leave my room.

The phone has been ringing for some time now. I wonder where my whole family has gone to. I pick up the receiver quickly, feeling annoyed.

"Hello," I said in a flat tone.

"Hello? Higurashi?"

It's Hojo.

I transfer the receiver to my left hand and use my free hand to perch my hip.

"What's up."

Hojo takes a while to respond.

"Am I calling at a bad time? You sound agitated."

I switch the receiver to my right hand again.

"No, everything's okay here. What's up."

"I want to talk to you for awhile. Just a quick while. That fine with you?"

I glance at my bedroom door upstairs.

"Sure, go on."

"This is about what happened in Erika's kitchen just now."

"Oh. Okay."

"Did you tell Erika what you saw?"

"You mean you digging in her freezer?"

"Well, yes. Did you?"

"No, but I did thought it was weird. You did it like you were possessed or something." I give out a short laugh.

Another pause from Hojo. I glance at my bedroom again, wondering if the idiot is still in my bed.

"Was it that obvious?" Hojo replies at last.

"What? That you looked possessed?" Another laugh.

"Higurashi, I'm serious."

"Hojo, I don't get what you're trying to tell me. Please get straight to the point."

I hear him sucking in his breath, then release it slowly.

"I think I call you again some time, Higurashi. Sorry to disturb you."

A click and then a dead line. I stare at the receiver in confusion and place it back. I rush back upstairs.

"Inuyasha, I'm very tired right now. I don't have time to entertain you."

You guessed it correctly; he's still in my bed.

"I never asked you to entertain me." He sits right up, albeit languidly, and pats the space on the bed beside him.

"No." I tell him, as firmly as the arms crossed over my chest.

I can see he is still sleepy, probably half-asleep, and what's more he's clearly not interested in the conversation, or moving off for that matter.

Oh we are both stubborn people, alright.

Inuyasha rests his back on the wall behind. He crosses his arms just like me and looks at me in the eye for a very long time.

"You know. I came here to see you and you weren't here. And then I fell asleep." He pauses to gather his words. "You think I'm not tired too? You think I don't have other better goddamn things to do other than come here and waste the whole day off just waiting for you?"

Sounds like his blood pressure has gone up. I made a sour face. Honestly, I cannot be bothered with what he's got to say. But I'm surprised when he really starts to move from the bed, slowly though, and walks unsteadily towards me. I take a deep breath and move away from my spot. Crawling into my bed, I start dusting the pillow and covers.

Inuyasha looks on displeasingly.

"I want to talk to you," he says in a hard tone. His voice tells me he is fully awake now.

"I want to sleep."

"Don't do this to me," he says again. I expect him to raise his voice but he doesn't. "I'm not in the mood to argue with you."

"Same," I reply nonchalantly. I lie down and pull the blanket up to under my chin. "We can talk tomorrow. Can you switch off the lights and close the door for me? Thanks."

"Kagome."

"What?"

The phone rings.

"You're unbelievable."

"Inuyasha, would you shut up? I'm going to sleep now." I turn in my bed away from him and close my eyes. "Goodnight."

He murmurs something back I can't catch. The phone continues to ring for at least a full minute, then all is silent.

-0-

I really fell asleep then. I should be. I can't remember what I dreamt. Something about school I think, because I can recall some vague images of the school clock and the hall corridor. And then I wake up suddenly. The room is dark, only with the light casting in from the window reflecting on the wall-a normal sight each night, something that has been planted into my mind so firmly that it has become quite meaningless. I feel someone in bed with me. I turn my head around slightly. He's propping his body on his elbow, a finger on his lips. Even in the dimness I can see he's smiling. Or at least I think he's smiling, the play of shadow on his face. "No worries, just another dream," he whispers. He leans in, brushes my eyes close. _No worries, just another dream. _Like an order, or maybe a chant, my thoughts run off with his words, into a place somewhere bleak, far and unknown, somewhere he can't reach and find them. And in that place, I can hear the echo of a ringing phone.

_~FIN~_


End file.
